Consider a sort of forum that's
centric about the idea of architecture--titled with a bow to the late great mid-c20 American trade journal
"Architectural Forum" --but it doesn't really observe the typical parameters of architectural, or historical,
or theoretical, or stylistic discussion. Think of it as sprawling and encompassing all in a distinctive
way--and the magic is in the "omni" prefix. Unlike similar prefixes such as "multi" or "poly" or "pan",
"omni" denotes not only collectivity and/or encompassment, but a flickering and disorienting collectivity
and/or encompassment, darting to and fro like a water strider, defying any artificial attempt to impose
an identity or to put it in a nutshell --one can never tell where the omni comes from, or where the omni
goes next. If one is never quite sure as to what Omnitectural Forum reflects or is all about, maybe that's
the point. Not so very unlike our real cultural world, built or otherwise --in fact, if our culture wasn't
an omniculture already, it'd be a very dull and stilted culture indeed. Omni pulsates with sensuous
life and energy. It may aggravate some; it may even make them feel violated --but maybe certain artificial
boundaries are long overdue for violation. Omni is freedom. Perhaps the seed was planted by 90s pop goddess
Sophie B. Hawkins, self-proclaimed "omnisexual", i.e. neither straight, nor gay, nor even conventionally
"bi", but an explosive macro-category all its own. So take the fundamental omni-concept and apply it a
step sideways to that what's around us, and... Hmmmm...
maybe what Lower Manhattan *really* needs is a
110-storey Sophie B. Hawkins...